According to a study out of the University of Exeter, published in Pharmacological Research and funded by the European Union and Medical Research Council, a gas that was formerly known for its noxious qualities could actually help people with diabetes recover from heart and blood vessel complications.
It is important to target the complications as 79 percent of the money spent on treating diabetes in the NHS is spent there.
The researchers found some promising results when they selectively targeted minute quantities of the foul smelling gas hydrogen sulfide inside blood vessel cells. They found that the drugs (AP39 and AP123) they created from the gas could help prevent sugar (glucose) from damaging endothelial cells.
Diabetics’ excess of glucose in their blood leads the mitochondria, the “powerhouse” of the cell to become inefficient and leaky, eventually leading to damaged blood vessels in the circulation and the heart. A symptom of this can be kidney disease or retinopathy. The researchers found that targeted doses of the drugs restored the efficiency of the mitochondria and prevented hyperglycemia-induced build-up of free radicals. Another good sign was that the effects of the drugs on the rats were long-lasting.
“We’re producing a growing body of evidence that hydrogen sulfide can have a range of health benefits, when carefully administered in minute doses in a highly targeted way in the body,” said one researcher. “Mitochondria can even make their own hydrogen sulfide and use it as a ‘fuel’ to keep metabolism efficient. When this ‘fuel’ is lost, mitochondria, cells, blood vessels and tissues are damaged. We previously showed that replacing the lost hydrogen sulfide with AP39 reversed this damage in cardiac arrest, hypertension and kidney failure damage and this current study adds AP123 to our portfolio of promising new drugs for diabetes.”
Another step on the road to help diabetic patients.
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.
